EP2072905A2

EP2072905A2 - Oven with air barrier

Info

Publication number: EP2072905A2
Application number: EP08172141A
Authority: EP
Inventors: Alberto Leggi
Original assignee: Leggi Project Co Srl; Giraudi International Trading SA
Current assignee: Leggi Project Co Srl; Giraudi International Trading SA
Priority date: 2007-12-19
Filing date: 2008-12-18
Publication date: 2009-06-24
Also published as: ITPC20070019U1; EP2072905A3

Abstract

The present innovation relates to an electric or gas oven with rack in particular for cooking meat or fish, of the type comprising a self-supporting stainless steel structure open at the front and in which a removable cooking rack is fitted, in which a fan is provided positioned inside the casing suitable for conveying a flow of fresh air between the inner walls and outer surfaces of the oven, thus limiting an excessive increase in temperature caused by the dispersions of the heating elements inside; the air curtain is created by a slit provided at the front opening from which a part of the flow emitted by the fan flows out and which acts as a barrier for the heat and fumes generated during cooking.

Said oven furthermore provides a system for height adjustment of the cooking rack consisting of a gearmotor connected to an eccentric device which acts on a sliding structure supporting the rack, and which allows said rack to be positioned at different heights in a completely automatic manner without having to remove it from the oven.

Description

The present innovation concerns an electric or gas oven with rack in particular for cooking meat or fish, of the type comprising a self-supporting stainless steel structure which is open at the front and in which a removable cooking rack is fitted, characterised in that means are provided for cooling the outer case of the oven and creating an air curtain at the front opening to prevent dispersion of the heat and cooking fumes to the outside.
In detail, the innovation provides a fan positioned inside the casing suitable for conveying a flow of fresh air between the inner walls and the outer surfaces of the oven, thus limiting an excessive increase in temperature caused by the dispersion of the heating elements inside; the air curtain is created by a slit provided at the front opening from which a part of the flow emitted by the fan flows out and which acts as a barrier for the heat and fumes generated during cooking.
Said oven also provides a system for height regulation of the cooking rack consisting of a gearmotor connected to an eccentric device which acts on a sliding structure supporting the rack, and which allows said rack to be positioned at different heights in a totally automatic manner without having to remove it from the oven.
Various types of electric or gas ovens with rack exist on the market for cooking fish, steaks or meat in general; said ovens produced according to the known technique usually comprise an outer box-type casing open at the front, suitable for defining the cooking area, provided with electric or gas heating elements positioned in the upper part of said casing.
The food is cooked on a removable rack, positioned inside the cooking area, which can be adjusted to various height positions by means of a series of supporting guides obtained on the inner lateral walls of the casing.
Said devices produced according to the known art have some drawbacks, however.
Firstly, ovens of this type for cooking meat or fish require heating elements with considerable thermal power which, due to the front opening and dissipation through the inner walls, cause an increase in temperature of both the outer surfaces of the casing and of the gripping elements for movement of the rack beyond the threshold established by the UNI standards concerning equipment of this type.
A further drawback concerns height adjustment of the rack which, in the known devices, is performed manually by taking the rack out of the oven and re-fitting it in the guide at the required height; this operation, if performed during cooking, is obviously not only difficult due to the weight but also dangerous in view of the high temperatures of the rack elements.
In this sector, the present innovation proposes an electric or gas oven with rack for cooking fish or meat of the type comprising an outer casing, open at the front, provided with heating elements in the upper part of the cooking area and in which a rack is fitted for cooking the food, characterised in that it comprises an internal ventilation system suitable for cooling the outer surfaces of the casing, as established by the standards for this type of equipment, and creating a vertical air curtain at the front opening which prevents dispersion of the heat towards the outside and outflow of the cooking fumes.
In particular the oven according to the innovation also features a rack height-adjustment system comprising an eccentric device operated by a gearmotor which, coupled with a spring balancing system, allows the rack to be height-adjusted fully automatically without having to take it out of the oven, a characteristic which is very useful during cooking.
The rack is positioned over a tray for collection of fats and cooking juices containing water; said tray can be pulled out completely by means of telescopic guides which permit complete access to the product. Cleaning and hygiene operations are also facilitated.
The present innovation will now be described in detail, by way of nonlimiting example, with reference to the accompanying figures in which:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the oven according to the innovation.
Figure 2 is a front view of the oven according to the innovation.
Figure 3 is a front section view of the oven according to the innovation.
Figure 4 is a lateral section view of the oven according to the innovation.

With reference to the accompanying figures, the electric oven indicated overall by the number 1 comprises an outer casing 2, open at the front, suitable for defining a cooking area 3 in which a cooking rack is fitted indicated overall by the number 4.
Said casing 2 consists of a box-like structure with fibreglass-insulated inner walls and stainless steel outer surfaces; the electric or gas heating elements 7 are positioned inside the upper part of the casing (fig. 3).
At the top right, looking at the object frontally, between the outer surface 6 and the inner wall 5 a radial fan 8 is provided with the inlet facing downwards and the outlet facing towards the cavity between the cover 10 and the upper inner wall 9.
In this way the flow of incoming air from below, indicated in the figure by a wavy arrow, cools the right side of the oven with the various electrical components indicated by 11, while the jet of air from the fan cools the cover 10 and left side of the oven.
A slit 12 is positioned vertically along the upper edge 13 of the front opening of the cooking area via which a part of the flow emitted by the fan flows out, creating a vertical air curtain which acts as a barrier against the outflow of heat and cooking fumes from the cooking area 3 to the outside.
The cooking rack 4 consists of a metal rack 14 positioned above a tray 15 for collection of the cooking juices.
Said rack 4 is fitted in a drawer, indicated by 16, by means of telescopic guides 17 which allow the rack to be removed, thus facilitating cleaning and maintenance operations.
Said drawer 16 in turn slides vertically along guides not indicated in the figure and is attached to the upper part of the casing 2 by means of four balancing springs 18 suitable for maintaining the drawer and therefore the rack horizontal when the height is varied.
The vertical movement system of the drawer 16 comprises a gearmotor 19 connected to two plates 20 arranged alongside the inner lateral walls 5 of the casing 2 by means of a shaft 21 positioned eccentrically with respect to the centre of said plates.
To give the assembly greater rigidity the two plates are connected by a cross member 22 positioned between them.
Four rollers 23 are hinged on each plate, positioned at the corners.
Due to the eccentricity of the shaft 21, according to the rotation of the plates 20 the pair of rollers 23 supporting the drawer 16 are set to different heights, acting as a stable support for the drawer.
The system is configured so as to obtain three different discrete height adjustments defined every ninety degrees of rotation of the gearmotor; the distance between the minimum and maximum height position is defined by the distance between the various rollers 23 or by the dimension of the plates 20.
During rotation of the eccentric device the drawer rests only on one single roller 23 of each plate; when this occurs, the spring balancing system helps to maintain the drawer 16 and the rack 4 horizontal until the new stable position is reached in which the drawer rests on another pair of rollers.
Due to the present innovation it is therefore possible to remedy the problems affecting the devices of the known art; in particular it is possible to produce an oven with high thermal power while at the same time complying with the safety regulations in force concerning "temperatures of operating surfaces".
The automatic adjustment system furthermore clearly improves practicality of use, avoiding having to take the rack out during cooking with all related risks and drawbacks.
Any modifications or variations will be considered included in the scope of this invention.

Claims

Electric or gas oven with rack in particular for cooking meat or fish of the type comprising a stainless steel casing (2) open at the front in which a removable cooking rack (4) is fitted provided with an automatic height adjustment system, characterised in that it is provided with means for cooling the outer casing of the oven and creating an air curtain at the front opening to prevent dispersion of the heat and cooking fumes towards the outside.
Electric or gas oven with rack as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that said means comprise:
- a fan (8) positioned between the inner wall (5) and the outer lateral surface (6) positioned with the intake facing downwards and the outlet facing towards a cavity provided between the upper wall (9) and the cover (10);

- a slit (12) positioned vertically along the upper edge (13) of the front opening of the oven from which a part of the air flow emitted by the fan (8) flows out in a downward direction, creating an air barrier.
Electric or gas oven with rack as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the cooking rack (4) is connected to a drawer (16) by means of telescopic guides (17) so that the rack can be pulled out to position the food to be cooked and also removed to facilitate the cleaning operations.
Electric or gas oven with rack as claimed in claim 1 and 3 characterised in that said drawer (16) runs vertically on guides and is connected to the upper part of the casing (2) by means of four balancing springs (18) which maintain said drawer horizontal during rotation of the eccentric device.
Electric or gas oven with rack as claimed in claim 1 characterised in that the rack height adjustment system comprises a gearmotor (19) connected to an eccentric device which acts on the drawer (16).
Electric or gas oven with rack as claimed in claim 5 characterised in that said eccentric system consists of two plates (20) positioned alongside the inner lateral walls, connected to the gearmotor by means of a shaft (21) positioned eccentrically with respect to the centre of said plates, and on which four rollers (23) are hinged equidistant from the centre of the plate.